The Constitution ensuring stability and development
30 August is celebrated in Kazakhstan as the country’s Constitution Day.
Adopted in 1995 the Constitution reflects the principles according to which the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan is organized.
According to the Constitution, the country’s greatest values are the people and their lives, rights and freedoms. “This Basic Law, adopted in a nationwide referendum, essentially became a social contract in accordance with which the authorities committed themselves to consolidating Kazakhstan as a democratic, civic, rule-of-law, social state, and its citizens accepted responsibility for observing the country’s Constitution and laws. Such mutual commitments create a firm basis for the continuing successful development of society and the state and enable us to look to the future with confidence”, President Nursultan Nazarbayev writes in his “The Kazakhstan Way” book.
Kazakhstan is a unitary state with a presidential form of government. The unitary nature of the country’s governmental structure precludes the existence of other nation states or autonomous districts in the country.
The President is the Head of State and its highest official, who determines the main directions for domestic and foreign policy.
One of the fundamental principles of the Constitution of Kazakhstan is the principle of the people’s sovereignty. In accordance with that principle, the single source of state power in Kazakhstan is the people. The power is exercised by the people through a republican referendum and free elections, or is delegated to the state authorities.
The basic democratic principle of separation of powers into three branches (the executive, the legislative and the judicial) has been adopted and is functioning effectively in Kazakhstan. The President, as the Head of State, ensures the harmonious functioning of all three branches of power and guarantees that they are responsible to the people.
The Government of Kazakhstan is the highest executive authority. It heads the system of executive organs and is in charge of their activities. The highest representative authority in Kazakhstan is the permanent professional bicameral Parliament that performs legislative duties. The highest judicial authority in the country is the Supreme Court.
The constitutional status of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan has resulted from the important part it plays in ensuring domestic stability. Representatives of more than 130 ethnic groups live in the country. Therefore, the Assembly plays an important role in maintaining interethnic harmony and the sustainable development of interethnic relations in the country.
This year Kazakhstan’s Constitution Day was marked by the military parade in Astana with participation of more than 120 units of military machinery and over 2000 officers and soldiers.
(At the picture: Minister of Defense, Adilbek Dzhaksybekov, reviews the troops during the military parade in Astana on August 30, 2009. Photo by Oleg Larov, Gazeta.kz)
Economy grows 3% in second quarter
In June Kazakhstan’s national economy grew 1.4%, compared with on figures posted for the same period in 2008, Kazakh Minister of Economy and Budget Planning, Bakhyt Sultanov, said at the Government’s meeting in Astana on 18 August.
Since the beginning of the global financial crisis, Kazakhstan has not experienced a technical recession. The economy shrank in the first quarter (Q1) of 2009, while in Q2, the country posted a growth of 3%. “Thus, we can assert that the national economy is now in recovery”, Mr. Sultanov said.
According to the Minister, a short decline in industrial production at the start of the year was followed by a growth of 7% in June, compared to the same month last year. Positive trends can also be seen in agriculture.
Mr. Sultanov said that the goal was to ensure a growth of 1.8 to 2% in Q3 and Q4, against the same periods in 2008, in order to secure a positive economic growth rate for the entire year.
Since 13 July, implementation of the Road Map - a project to bring about industrial development in regions of the country - has created a total of 238,700 new jobs.
“As of 1 July, the banking sector’s debt stood at USD 32 billion, while as of the end of 2007, the figure was in excess of USD 46 billion. Over the last seven quarters, the debt figure has been reduced by a factor of 1.5”, said Gregory Marchenko, Head of Kazakhstan’s Central Bank.
Mr. Marchenko also announced that BTA Bank and Alliance Bank account for 40% of the banking sector’s external debt: “When the restructuring plans have been fulfilled, the problem of the external debt will be solved” he said. In addition, the Chairman of the National Bank said that the Financial Sector Development Concept (elaborated under the President’s instructions) envisages a ceiling for external borrowing of 30% of overall liabilities for every second-tier bank.
Despite inflationary expectations, annual inflation as at the end of July amounted to 6.9% - down by a factor of 1.5 in comparison to December 2008, and down by a factor of 3 in comparison to July 2008. “The level reached is the lowest since February 2005, which means that we have returned to pre-crisis levels” said Mr. Marchenko.
(At the picture: Bakhyt Sultanov, Minister of Economy and Budget Planning of Kazakhstan)
Kazakh delegation participates in SHDM on Freedom of Religion or Belief
OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Religion or Belief takes place in Vienna
The OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Religion or Belief was held in Vienna on 9 and 10 July, with the participation of officials, representatives of international organizations and NGOs and the media from OSCE participating States. The delegation of Kazakhstan consisted of representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, culture and information, and justice as well as NGOs. At the invitation of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairmanship on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims, Senator Adil Akhmetov of Kazakhstan, took part in the event.
The three Personal Representatives for tolerance addressed the meeting. In his statement Adil Akhmetov shared with the participants Kazakhstan’s experience of interreligious harmony.
During the main sessions of the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting, questions were raised with respect to the implementation by participating States of their OSCE commitments in the area of freedom of religion, the status of religious communities and places of worship.
In the meeting’s closing session the participants pointed to the need to continue discussion on the problems involved in ensuring freedom of religion and also in providing for dialogue between the State and religious communities, striking a balance between believers and non-believers and identifying the role to be played by the media in this sphere.
In addition to the main sessions, there was also the Round Table for Civil Society and four side events, two of which – “The OSCE Chairmanship and Kazakhstan” and “The Assault on Religious Freedom in Central Asia” organized by the NGO Freedom House – dealt with Kazakhstan.
Interesting discussions took place during the Round Table for Civil Society, including a discussion about instruction in primary schools on religion in general and its various forms. Another important issue considered at the Round Table was the need to set limits with respect to the extent to which the State can regulate the activities of religious communities.
The event entitled “The OSCE Chairmanship and Kazakhstan” was devoted to the reform of Kazakh legislation, including changes made to the laws on the media, elections and political parties. The positions taken by various NGOs and the authorities were presented.
During the event entitled “The Assault on Religious Freedom in Central Asia”, freedom of religion in the Central Asian region was examined. Representatives of the official delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakh NGOs, the media and religious organizations participated in the event.
Semey commemorates last nuclear explosion
It was 20 years ago that the last nuclear test took place at Semipalatinsk – the biggest nuclear testing site in the world. On 18 June 2009, a commemorative meeting was held in the city of Semey.
In his introductory statement, President Nursultan Nazarbayev emphasized that, for many years, Kazakhstan had been an epicentre of nuclear weapons testing. The people and the land of Kazakhstan had endured pain and losses in the period from 1949 through 1991, when the Soviet Union had carried out 456 nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing site. The total nuclear power of the explosions had been 2,500 times greater than that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
The damage to the environment had been so serious, he went on to say, that hundreds of years would be needed for it to recover. The ecological disaster zone around the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing site occupied more than 300,000 square kilometres. One-ninth of the whole territory of Kazakhstan – an area comparable to the size of Germany – had been transformed into a toxic wasteland.
The Kazakh Government was working unflaggingly to bring about the social rehabilitation of the population and the territories that had been exposed to the influence of the tests. The State Programme for a comprehensive solution of the problems of the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing site had been fully implemented and had considerably improved the environmental situation of the affected region.
The President called on the United Nations to proclaim 29th August - the day on which in 1991 the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site had finally been closed - as the “International Day of Renunciation of Nuclear Weapons”. In his statement, he stressed that addressing the problems of international security would be one of the main priorities in Kazakhstan’s forthcoming Chairmanship of the OSCE. He believed that the time had come to revise non-proliferation mechanisms. The international community needed to evaluate all the advantages and disadvantages of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and make the corrections required to meet modern challenges. States that possessed nuclear weapons must demonstrate goodwill and honour a commitment to reduce their arsenals.
He expressed his support for the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and the President of the United States of America Barack Obama regarding nuclear disarmament and the reduction of strategic offensive arms.
This year, Kazakhstan was also marking the fifteenth anniversary of the removal from its territory of all the nuclear devices that the country had inherited after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan had set a commendable example by voluntarily giving up its nuclear arsenal, which had been the fourth largest in the world, and larger than those of the UK, France and China combined.
Those actions on the part of Kazakhstan and its broad support for IAEA safeguards were making an important contribution to international and regional security. On a global scale, such efforts, taken collectively, would lead to a world free of nuclear weapons.
(At the picture: Explosion yield of 3,5 Mt. Nuclear test carried out on 2 July, 1956)
SCO open for partnership
Excerpts from the statement by the Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Ambassador Bolat Nurgaliev, at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, 22 July, 2009
The SCO serves as a common platform for China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in their commitment to build coherent frameworks for joint action while coping with pressing issues that affect their shared interests, countering new challenges and threats, maintaining peace, security and stability, and creating favorable conditions for sustainable socio-economic development.
The Organization’s evolution through the 8 years of its existence has been a positive, dynamic process. Its members are determined to play to their undisputable advantages of being long-term neighbors and traditional friends. Our approach to security and cooperation was based from the outset on mutual trust and equality, despite the vast differences in the political and economic clout of the member states.
China and Russia, being two permanent members of the UN Security Council, share unique responsibilities for maintaining global peace and security. Their role in enhancing the SCO’s authority and effectiveness is very positive.
For obvious reasons, the significance of Central Asia in the context of energy, food, and transportation security, both regional and global, will continue to increase and bring about relevant changes in those countries’ negotiating capacities.
The SCO member states are united by a mutual understanding of the nature of shared threats and risks, and a common philosophy of seeking out approaches to even the most difficult problems all the while respecting each others’ interests. Among their top priorities are: a) safeguarding good neighborly relations; b) searching for conciliatory solutions; and c) proliferating the belief that differences, disputes, and contradictions should be resolved on the constructive foundation of dialogue and consultation, restraint and concession.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization deems it important to further cement the legal foundations of international relations determined by generally accepted principles and norms of international law and international obligations of states. What remains as an urgent task is the strengthening of the central and coordinating role of the United Nations in world affairs, enhancing the effectiveness of its mechanisms with the aim of adequately responding to modern challenges, such as a changing political and economic reality. The reform of the UN Security Council must gain a wider consensus from members of the international community.
The SCO is concerned that the scale and acuteness of threats of terrorism, separatism, and extremism are not diminishing. That is why the sphere of security is a top priority. The main coordinating bodies for security cooperation are the Secretariat of the SCO in Beijing and the Regional Counterterrorist Structure based in Tashkent. We have a legal obligation to share information about terrorists and terrorist organizations so that competent services will be able to trace them on the territory of any member state.
Within the SCO we always stress that terrorism has nothing to do with specific faiths. The fight against international terrorism should not spill over into hostility against any particular religion and definitely not transform into islamophobia.
Security and stability cannot be strengthened without a competent national economy. Within the SCO we have a solid legal foundation and organizational structure for developing economic cooperation. We adopted the Program of multilateral trade and economic cooperation aimed at moving towards the free flow of capital, goods, services and technology within the next 20 years. Economic priorities include the implementation of a number of pilot projects of a regional dimension in energy, transportation, and information technology. Our aim is to modernize the energy and transportation infrastructure of member states – a major prerequisite for eventual regional integration.
By its charter, the SCO is an open organization. We welcome establishing ties with any interested state or international organization. Currently we have four observer states: India, Iran, Mongolia, and Pakistan. Recently at the Yekaterinburg session of the Council of Heads of State, Belarus and Sri Lanka were granted the status of partners in dialogue. Our efforts to contribute to the normalization of the situation in Afghanistan are directed through a special SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group. Our serious concern about the threats of terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime caused by instability in Afghanistan was voiced at the Moscow special conference under the aegis of the SCO last March.
In the framework of the international program for providing aid to Afghanistan, the SCO member states are making a concrete contribution by rendering economic and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan on a bilateral basis, including the construction of road infrastructure, communication lines, energy units, hospitals, and schools. The total amount of combined free aid provided by the SCO states to Afghanistan stands at around 220 million dollars. A number of the SCO states have written off quite considerable sums of Afghanistan’s overdue debts. Training courses are conducted for the personnel of the IRA’s government institutions and law enforcement agencies.
The SCO is expanding practical interaction with regional institutions such as the CIS, CSTO, EurasEC, ECO, ASEAN, and ESCAP. The same holds true for our readiness vis-à-vis other international and regional organizations. On June 25, 2009 I participated at the Security Forum of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council organized by the NATO in Astana. In my presentation I stressed that everything on the agenda of the SCO main bodies is transparent, and the decisions adopted within the Organization are forthright. We would like for everybody to have a correct understanding of the goals and activities of the SCO, whose aim is to contribute to the creation of a new global security architecture with no rift between the strong and the weak.
For the first time the SCO participated along with NATO in the discussion of pressing issues of global and regional character including the increasing role of Central Asia, the situation in and around Afghanistan, and energy cooperation.
I believe that the SCO will increase its involvement with the activities of other relevant organizations, including the OSCE. Intensive preparations are under way for Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the OSCE next year. It is considered to be a crucial challenge for Kazakh diplomacy whose intention is to expand and enhance European cooperation in many fields, from conflict prevention to national minorities’ rights, and from transportation security to the rule of law.
The full text of the statement is available here.
New appointments
Pursuant to decisions by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office:
Member of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, Ambassador Adil Akhmetov has assumed the post of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims;
Mr. Jandos Asanov has been appointed Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Minsk.
